Gregoria Brown and her husband, Tom, were among the first to show up at Curley’s Family Barbershop on Oct. 19 for “Healthy Shops Vax & Fadez,” a Pima County Health Department COVID-19 vaccine initiative in partnership with local barbers.
Brown said she wanted to get vaccinated so she’d be ready for a planned family reunion to her native Paleau, an island republic in the South Pacific. A haircut would have just been icing on the cake.
Brown wasn’t the only one to come for the shot but pass on the free trim. Tucsonan Marta Ruiz showed up with a number of relatives in tow. Her brother-in-law Renato and his young son live in Mexico, but made the trip to Tucson for the vaccine. “It was easier for them to come up here than try to get it down there,” said Ruiz.
Owner Thomas Curley said he was happy to provide his family barbershop as a vaccination site. “It’s a good thing they’re doing,” he said of the pop-up vaccination clinic.
On a shaded stretch of sidewalk outside the front door of Curley’s shop, workers from Premier Medical Group (PMG), one of Pima County’s vaccine contractors, continued to check-in vaccine recipients and ready them for their shots. Marta Ruiz’s husband, Jesus, had just sat down to receive his.
“I got COVID last year and it was bad,” said Marta. “I’ve already had my shot, but I’m going to make sure everyone in my family gets it. I don’t understand why anybody wouldn’t want the shot.”
“It’s a beautiful day to be doing this,” said Ryan Gonzales, a medical assistant and site lead for PMG. Pharmacist Nita Shah concurred. “There’s also a community feel to how we’re doing it today. People seem relaxed, everyone is in a good mood.”
MacLaren “Mac” De Masi, who lives in nearby Barrio Viejo, took advantage of the outdoor setting by having her dog join her for her shot. For her, the motivation was the vaccine, not a haircut. And the convenient location didn’t hurt, either.
“It’s just something I’ve been meaning to do.”